Page 13 of Filthy Liar

I should’ve been happy to know she didn’t want me dead, but all I felt was guilt as I put my phone away again.

Rory tapped her fingers on the table in thought before nodding slowly. “I don’t want you knowing where it is,” she finally said, relief filling me.

“I don’t have to know. I’ll pay you cash.”

She waved it off, looking a little offended. “I don’t need your money. Raven’s like one of my kids, so I’ve got her. Nice to know you give a shit though.”

“Of course I give a shit.”

“From what I heard yesterday, it’s surprising.” She turned her attention to Dante, her voice dropping. “It's really hard not to kill you right now. If I had my way, I’d remove you from the board entirely.”

“That’s not recommended,” Dante answered, eyeing her as he leaned forward on the table. “Killing the heir to the Italian mafia throne would only bring vengeance to you and your family.”

“Maybe. It’s not like Stefano doesn’t have a backup prince,” she deadpanned.

“Trust me, he doesn’t want me anywhere near his empire,” I muttered, my eyes scanning the dim room as I spoke. “Stefano likes power and control. I destroyed his perfectly laid out plans when he found out I existed.”

“How about this? You explain everything from start to finish from your perspective, and I don’t kill you for hurting Raven,” Rory offered with a sweet smile, lacing her fingers together in front of her.

I wasn’t surprised to know she was aware of the situation. Raven and the guys would’ve told her, and the crews had probably been having meetings about it already.

At least she was letting me tell my side of things so I knew she had the truth.

I gave her the rundown on my childhood, hating to give her such vulnerable information about myself, but if it meant she’d trust me, I’d do it.

Dante stayed quiet, knowing everything I’d been through since he’d been the only person to check on me after the multiplecorrectionsthat Stefano had given me. He was tense, not liking someone he saw as the enemy knowing so much about me.

Information in our world was currency, but it was also a weakness.

“What I don’t understand is why you lied in the first place,” she said when I was done. “If you had no ulterior motives, why weren’t you honest?”

“Because in the beginning Ididhave ulterior motives.”

“You’re so lucky that I don’t kill you for sucking Riley in like that,” she said sharply. “Let alone for spying on us.”

“I’ll admit what I did was wrong, and the guilt started eating at me when your damn daughter became a good friend to me and things changed. Stefano doesn’t know anything of importance about your family or crews. He wasn’t trying to go after you, he just wanted to know about all the players on the board, as you’d say,” I answered, motioning to Dante. “Dante is a key player in our fight against Stefano. He’s part of the inner circle, and Stefano trusts him. He’s our best way in.”

“Or this little display of trauma you’re throwing at me is an act and you’re doing Daddy’s work in getting us to trust you,” she said flatly, crossing her arms.

“If you thought I was full of shit, you’d have killed me by now. I know you well enough to know I’m only still walking because you’ve allowed it. I’m not so arrogant that I think I can take on the Psychosandthe Devils,” I chuckled, tilting my head. “And I know you usually shoot first and ask questions later, so you’ve obviously been told not to kill me.”

Her jaw clenched but she didn’t pull her gun on me or anything.

“Don’t push your luck. You’re right, you’re only alive because it’s in our best interests to keep you around. Piss me off though, and I’ll just figure out another way to dispose of you, if you evenbreathewrong in our direction.”

A hand came down firmly on my shoulder, and I had to put my hand out to warn Dante not to do anything when Diesel spoke. “We need to talk.”

“You’re going to let them push you around like this?” Dante hissed, his body tense and ready for a fight.

“Even if I wanted to fight, we’re in a Reaper’s establishment, having a meeting with the Psychos, and I know for a fact that there were Devils at the bar when we arrived. Besides, I have a feeling Mr. Maverick here has other matters to discuss,” I said dryly, glancing over my shoulder. “Right, Diesel? This is a fatherly conversation about Raven?”

His fingers dug into my shoulder more for a second before letting me go with a scowl, giving me my answer. He was pissed that I’d lied to Raven, and he needed to threaten me again to make sure she didn’t get hurt.

I respected that as always.

I got to my feet and slid from the booth, giving Dante a pointed look. “Don’t fight with Rory, answer her questions, and behave.”

He kept the emotions off his face and nodded, but I knew he was fuming inside.

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